State Roundup, September 21, 2012

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE: Groups on both sides of the same-sex marriage debate have bought television airtime in the Baltimore market for next month, writes Annie Linskey of the Sun.

Gov. Martin O’Malley is teaming up with D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray and top K Street lobbyists next month to raise money for same-sex marriage legislation in Maryland, reports Hayley Peterson for the Washington Examiner.

DREAM ACT STUDENTS: Marc Steiner of WEAA-FM devotes an hour to the DREAM Act. First, he speaks with two students who would benefit from its passage: Jesus and Jonathan will elaborate on what the act means to them. Then he speaks with Zeke Berzoff-Cohen, Takira White and Breonna Rogers from The Intersection organization, who also support the DREAM Act.

COUNTY EXECS ON GAMING GROWTH: As November gets closer, Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker is increasing his efforts to drum up support for the gambling expansion question that will be on the ballot, writes Lindsey McPherson of the Laurel Leader.

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman announced his support yesterday for Maryland’s expanded gambling plan, becoming the latest of the state’s potential 2014 gubernatorial candidates to take a stand on the divisive issue, John Wagner blogs in the Post.

Alexander Pyles of the Daily Record writes you could have picked the gambling sides with your eyes closed.

Three Maryland county executives joined forces Thursday to blast a recent ad campaign opposing an expansion of gambling in the state and to encourage voters to support the measure, writes the Gazette’s Daniel Leaderman. The group that financed those ads was looking to protect an existing casino in West Virginia, said Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett.

Gazette columnist Barry Rascovar examines the huge spending on advertising on both sides of the gambling question.

BALLOT QUESTIONS: Montgomery County’s Democratic Party will remain neutral on Maryland’s new congressional district map and the expansion of gambling, two key issues state Democrats are asking voters to support in November.

GAMBLING AND EDUCATION: Mark Newgent of Red Maryland takes a close look at an anti-gambling expansion flier and discusses arguments that gambling revenue will benefit education.

ENVIRONMENT OF THE STATE: Dan Rodricks of WYPR-FM hosts a discussion about the Maryland environment with Rona Kobell, staff writer for the Bay Journal. She returns for an update on hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” for natural gas in Maryland and other issues.

Judging from the number of financiers, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and corporate managers at this week’s Maryland Clean Energy Summit, the renewable energy business and companies that reduce use of carbon fuels are becoming larger and more profitable, writes Len Lazarick for MarylandReporter.com.

HEALTH CARE EXPANSION: The percentage of young Marylanders with health insurance rose to almost 82% last year from 75% in 2009, a rate much higher than the national average, according to data released Thursday by the Census Bureau, Kelsi Loos reports for Capital News Service in MarylandReporter.com.

MOONEY WITHDRAWS: Ben Pershing of the Post reports on an odd situation that Alex Mooney found himself in: technically running for U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett’s seat while remaining on Bartlett’s payroll. The situation actually had put Mooney at odds with House ethics rules.

JOB LOSS & MEDICARE: Maryland could lose almost 13,000 jobs by 2021 if federal lawmakers can’t agree on a budget alternative that would avoid cutting billions of dollars in Medicare spending, according to a consulting firm’s report, writes Sarah Gantz for the Baltimore Business Journal.

SMITH FOR GOV? David Moon at Maryland Juice offers short pieces on five possible gubernatorial candidates including Howard County Exec Ken Ulman, Del. Heather Mizeur and former Baltimore County Exec Jim Smith.

O’MALLEY HITS THE TRAIL: Gov. O’Malley’s political travels took him to Florida and North Carolina yesterday. In the Tar Heel State, O’Malley was campaigning for Dem gubernatorial candidate Walter Dalton, blogs John Wagner in the Post.

The Republican Governors Association is trying to turn O’Malley’s record on raising taxes into a political albatross for North Carolina Democratic gubernatorial candidate Walter Dalton, reports Hayley Peterson for the Washington Examiner. View the ad at the top of the link.

LATINO GAYS: Latino support for same-sex marriage is elusive, Daniel Leaderman reports in the Gazette, with acceptance of gay families on rise, but their votes may be questionable in November.

NOTEBOOK: The Gazette’s Reporters Notebook has items on Barry Levinson’s s Bay horror movie; Maryland’s billionaires; fracking; state income; and Ron Wineholt’s move.

About The Author

Cynthia Prairie

[email protected]
https://www.chestertelegraph.org/

Contributing Editor Cynthia Prairie has been a newspaper editor since 1979, when she began working at The Raleigh Times. Since then, she has worked for The Baltimore News American, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Prince George’s Journal and Baltimore County newspapers in the Patuxent Publishing chain, including overseeing The Jeffersonian when it was a two-day a week business publication. Cynthia has won numerous state awards, including the Maryland State Bar Association’s Gavel Award. Besides compiling and editing the daily State Roundup, she runs her own online newspaper, The Chester Telegraph. If you have additional questions or comments contact Cynthia at: [email protected]

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